Sip Your Way to The RAMMYS with RAMW’s Month-long Cocktail Promotion

One of DC’s hottest events of the year, TheRAMMY Awards, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s (RAMW) annual restaurant industry awards gala, is rapidly approaching, and DC metro-area residents once again have a chance to score a pair of coveted tickets to the highly-anticipated gala by simply sipping a cocktail (twist your arm, right?!). From May 18 to June 18, “Beverage/Mixology Program of the Year” RAMMY nominees will host a month-long cocktail promotion where consumers can patronize any of the five nominated restaurants and order their signature RAMMY cocktail for a chance to win two tickets to the hottest industry event of the year, the annual gala on June 24.

Last night, I was at Graffiato who hosted a media preview where I was invited to sip and mingle with the best of the best mixologists to sample their award-winning concoctions. Now through this RAMW promotion, you can too!

The five nominees for “Beverage/Mixology Program of the Year” are Bourbon Steak, ChurchKey, EatGoodFood Group,Estadio, and Room 11. The nominees will be serving up the following creative cocktails at their restaurants:

Duane Sylvestre, the mixologist extraordinaire at Bourbon Steak has created The Huntress, a unique cocktail made with Red Stag Bourbon, cold black tea, housemade sarsaparilla syrup and fresh lemon. This RAMMY cocktail is served in an absinthe-rinsed glass and garnished with a lemon twist. Guests can enjoy The Huntress at Bourbon Steak located in the Four Seasons Georgetown hotel located at 2800 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Churchkey’s Farmhouse Punch. Photo by L. Shapiro

ChurchKey’s award-winning beer master Greg Engert is combining brews and booze in his innovative Farmhouse Punch. He tops a mixture of Russian StandardVodka, Pernod Ricard Absinthe, lemon juice, grapefruit juice and peppercorn syrup with Rayon Vert, a Belgian-style Pale Ale from Green Flash Brewing Co. To my surprise, while I am generally not a fan of Absinthe, I really enjoyed this cocktail. The sweet yet grapefruit flavor balances the spicy peppercorn syrup. Customers can try the Farmhouse Punch at ChurchKey located at 1337 14th St., NW.

Adam Bernbach, mixologist at Estadio is mixing up the DÃ­a de Descanso (meaning ‘Day of Rest’ in Spanish). The refreshing cocktailis made with Beefeater 24 Gin, housemade saffron and grapefruit syrup, fresh lime juice and sparkling wine, garnished with lime and mint. This was definitely a favorite, as it goes down so smooth. It’s light, refreshing, and truly a beverage that one would sip while enjoying a “day of rest”. Patrons can sip the DÃ­a de Descanso at Estadio located at 1520 14th St., NW.

Todd Thrasher of EatGoodFood Group has concocted a creative punch bowl cocktail, the 42 and Cloudy. Thrasher said that the inspiration of his drink came from New Zealand. The complex 12-ingredient drink is made with Cruzan White Rum, honey vodka, passion vodka, Sazerac rye, Brandy, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, sencha green tea, water, passion fruit juice, fresh lemon juice, Luxardo cherries and Champagne to taste. The alcohols are mixed using their frozen drink maker, even though the drink is not served frozen. It helps keep all of the ingredients and flavors well combined. Another favorite of mine, I truly enjoyed Todd’s punch. Diners can try the 42 and Cloudy at Virtue Feed & Grain located at 106 S. Union St. in Old Town, Alexandria, VA.

DC’s own punch master, Dan Searing of Room 11, is serving up his citrusy Conquistador Punch. The summertime-perfect punch is a mix of Sauza Hornitos Tequila, Gonzalez Byass Solera 1847 Oloroso Dulce, fresh lime and clementine juices, housemade clementine zest syrup and fresh clementines served over a large ice block. Guests can taste the Conquistador Punch at Room 11 located at 3234 11th St., NW.

Diners who purchase a RAMMY cocktail at any of the five restaurants until June 18 will be eligible to win two tickets to the RAMMY gala on June 24. Consumers will fill out an information card for each RAMMY drink purchase and a winner will be chosen at random on June 18 at the end of the promotion. Good Luck!

On March 26th, hundreds of the Washington, DC metropolitan area’s top restaurateurs, chefs and key restaurant industry players gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Downtown in Washington, DC as the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) announced the nominees for its annual RAMMY Awards. The 2012 RAMMY Award winners will be named at the 30th annual RAMMY Gala on Sunday, June 24, 2012 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This year’s RAMMY Gala theme is “Hats Off to Restaurants!” honoring the extraordinary accomplishments of the Washington, DC regional restaurant scene over the past year.

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[...] Sip Your Way to The RAMMYS with RAMW’s Month-long Cocktail Promotion: From May 18 to June 18, “Beverage/Mixology Program of the Year” RAMMY nominees will host a month-long cocktail promotion where consumers can come into nominated restaurants and order their signature RAMMY cocktail for a chance to win two tickets to the annual gala on June 24. The five nominees for “Beverage/Mixology Program of the Year” are Bourbon Steak, ChurchKey, EatGoodFood Group, Estadio and Room 11. The nominees will be serving up the following creative cocktails at their restaurants. Diners who purchase a RAMMY cocktail at any of the five restaurants until June 18 will be eligible to win two tickets to the RAMMY gala on June 24. Consumers will fill out an information card for each RAMMY drink purchase and a winner will be chosen at random on June 18 at the end of the promotion. Good Luck! Hope to see you there! [...]

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